Wild One track over the entrance for Gotham City at Six Flags America
When the roller coaster first opened in 1917, it was The Giant Coaster at Paragon Park in Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts. The Giant Coaster was a double out-and-back side-friction coaster designed by John A. Miller and built by Herbert Paul Schmeck of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC).[1] In 1932, after it was partially destroyed by fire, Schmeck redesigned much of the ride using an underfriction track system. In April 1963, another fire destroyed the station, trains, double helix finale and part of the lift hill.[1] The park asked John C. Allen president of PTC to rebuild the coaster as it was, but his estimate proved too high for the traditional park. Instead he left out two bunny hops and the helix finale in order to create an angled approach into the brake run. Although nowhere near as exciting as Miller's finish, Allen gave the park an affordable alternative to tearing down the coaster.[2]
On July 19, 1963, Forest Park Highlands in St. Louis suffered from a massive fire, but its roller coaster, Comet, remained standing. When Comet was torn down in 1968, Paragon Park bought its trains as opposed to buying more expensive ones from PTC. The trains continued to have the name "Comet" labeled on the front car during the remaining years of Giant Coaster's operation.[2]
Sale and moveedit
The Giant Coaster closed with Paragon Park in 1984 and was sold to Wild World (now Six Flags America), which acquired the ride in a last minute bid at auction. Charlie Dinn of the Dinn Corporation was contracted to relocate the ride and supervised the reconstruction. Curtis D. Summers reworked sections of the layout, and restored the helix finale that had been lost in the 1963 fire. The ride opened in 1986 as The Wild One and although popular with riders was considered to be fairly intense.[3][4] The financially plagued park owners had difficulties maintaining the coaster, and it quickly developed a reputation for being rough. Several rides, including the coaster, did not open for the 1991 season.[5]
Current designedit
In the winter of 1991/1992 the park was sold to Tierco Group, Inc. Tierco hired John F. Pierce Associates to refurbish the coaster. The first and second drops were dramatically reprofiled, and the rest of the ride was fine-tuned with portions retracked.[2] In subsequent years the ride has been retracked multiple times with much of the recent work completed by Martin & Vleminckx.[6]American Coaster Enthusiasts awarded The Wild One the organization's Coaster Landmark award on June 18, 2018.[1]
Recordsedit
When The Giant Coaster opened in 1917, at 98 feet (30 m) tall, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world. Its record was not surpassed until 1925 when the 100-foot (30 m) tall Revere BeachCyclone opened.
Referencesedit
^ abc"Coaster Landmark - Wild One". Grand Prairie, Texas: American Coaster Enthusiasts. June 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
^ abcJenkins, Torrence (1998). "I am a Grand Old Man". RollerCoaster!. Vol. 19, no. 4. Allison Park, Pennsylvania: American Coaster Enthusiasts. p. 43. ISSN 0896-7261.
^Pressley, Sue Anne (May 4, 1986). "Largo Amusement Park Unleashes 'Wild One'". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
^Harrington, Richard (June 13, 1985). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023.
^Potts, Mark (June 15, 1992). "Making a Splash". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
^"Coaster Repair & Refurbishment". Martin & Vleminckx. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
wild, roller, coaster, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, wild, roller, coaster, news, newspapers, book. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Wild One roller coaster news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message The Wild One is a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags America in Prince George s County Maryland It features a 450 spiral helix and a series of bunny hills that produce a significant amount of air time The wooden coaster was previously known as Giant Coaster when it was located at Paragon Park in Hull Massachusetts It operated there from 1917 to 1984 It is the oldest coaster in any Six Flags park The Wild OnePreviously known as The Giant Coaster 1917 1984 Six Flags AmericaLocationSix Flags AmericaPark sectionMardi GrasCoordinates38 54 33 N 76 46 21 W 38 90917 N 76 77250 W 38 90917 76 77250StatusOperatingOpening date1986 1986 Paragon ParkStatusRemovedOpening date1917 1917 Closing date1984 1984 General statisticsTypeWoodManufacturerPhiladelphia Toboggan CompanyDesignerJohn A MillerHerbert SchmeckHeight98 ft 30 m Drop88 ft 27 m Length4 000 ft 1 200 m Speed60 mph 97 km h Inversions0Duration1 52Height restriction48 in 122 cm Trains2 trains with 4 cars Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 24 riders per train Flash Pass AvailableThe Wild One at RCDB Contents 1 History 1 1 Sale and move 1 2 Current design 2 Records 3 References 4 External linksHistory edit nbsp Wild One track over the entrance for Gotham City at Six Flags America When the roller coaster first opened in 1917 it was The Giant Coaster at Paragon Park in Nantasket Beach Massachusetts The Giant Coaster was a double out and back side friction coaster designed by John A Miller and built by Herbert Paul Schmeck of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company PTC 1 In 1932 after it was partially destroyed by fire Schmeck redesigned much of the ride using an underfriction track system In April 1963 another fire destroyed the station trains double helix finale and part of the lift hill 1 The park asked John C Allen president of PTC to rebuild the coaster as it was but his estimate proved too high for the traditional park Instead he left out two bunny hops and the helix finale in order to create an angled approach into the brake run Although nowhere near as exciting as Miller s finish Allen gave the park an affordable alternative to tearing down the coaster 2 On July 19 1963 Forest Park Highlands in St Louis suffered from a massive fire but its roller coaster Comet remained standing When Comet was torn down in 1968 Paragon Park bought its trains as opposed to buying more expensive ones from PTC The trains continued to have the name Comet labeled on the front car during the remaining years of Giant Coaster s operation 2 Sale and move edit The Giant Coaster closed with Paragon Park in 1984 and was sold to Wild World now Six Flags America which acquired the ride in a last minute bid at auction Charlie Dinn of the Dinn Corporation was contracted to relocate the ride and supervised the reconstruction Curtis D Summers reworked sections of the layout and restored the helix finale that had been lost in the 1963 fire The ride opened in 1986 as The Wild One and although popular with riders was considered to be fairly intense 3 4 The financially plagued park owners had difficulties maintaining the coaster and it quickly developed a reputation for being rough Several rides including the coaster did not open for the 1991 season 5 Current design edit In the winter of 1991 1992 the park was sold to Tierco Group Inc Tierco hired John F Pierce Associates to refurbish the coaster The first and second drops were dramatically reprofiled and the rest of the ride was fine tuned with portions retracked 2 In subsequent years the ride has been retracked multiple times with much of the recent work completed by Martin amp Vleminckx 6 American Coaster Enthusiasts awarded The Wild One the organization s Coaster Landmark award on June 18 2018 1 Records editWhen The Giant Coaster opened in 1917 at 98 feet 30 m tall it was the tallest roller coaster in the world Its record was not surpassed until 1925 when the 100 foot 30 m tall Revere Beach Cyclone opened References edit a b c Coaster Landmark Wild One Grand Prairie Texas American Coaster Enthusiasts June 2018 Retrieved February 7 2022 a b c Jenkins Torrence 1998 I am a Grand Old Man RollerCoaster Vol 19 no 4 Allison Park Pennsylvania American Coaster Enthusiasts p 43 ISSN 0896 7261 Pressley Sue Anne May 4 1986 Largo Amusement Park Unleashes Wild One The Washington Post Washington D C Retrieved February 9 2022 Harrington Richard June 13 1985 Sold One Roller Coaster The Washington Post Archived from the original on April 20 2023 Potts Mark June 15 1992 Making a Splash The Washington Post Washington D C Retrieved February 9 2022 Coaster Repair amp Refurbishment Martin amp Vleminckx Retrieved February 7 2022 External links editWild One at Six Flags America Preceded byUnknown World s Tallest Roller Coaster1917 1925 Succeeded byCyclone Preceded byUnknown World s Tallest Complete Circuit Roller Coaster1917 1925 Succeeded byCyclone Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Wild One roller coaster amp oldid 1217909470, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
